Happy Friday from the EngBio CDT! 👋 Cohort 2 students are in the midst of their 4-week group innovation projects. We caught up with Oxford student Max, to hear about his project, which revolves around the testing of collagen-based materials for wound healing.

Our next student-led seminar is coming up! Organised by James Bridson (Oxford) & Sam Kemery (Bristol), we’re excited to welcome Assistant Professor Jennifer Brophy as our speaker. Jenn is a plant synthetic biologist at Stanford University. The lab's work explores how the form of a plant affects...

Happy New Year! Join us Jan. 29 at UCL 🌟 🦠 Breaking Bud: There and Back Again — A Scientist’s Journey in Engineering Living Systems Jason Yu (Bezos Center Sust. Protein) 🌱 Using synbio and pathway engineering to decode plant terpene biosynthesis Edith Forestier (Imperial) tinyurl.com/4dw57vnv

The Bristol deadline for the EngBio CDT is nearly upon us! Don't forget to submit your application on 13th January. To complete your application, visit the University of Bristol website: www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgr...

Happy new year! 🥳 We hope you have a great 2026! As the festive season draws to a close, why not send in that application to the EngBio CDT?! As a reminder: ◾University of Oxford deadline: 8th January 2026, midday UK time ◾University of Bristol deadline: 13th January 2026, 23:59 UK time

From all of us at the EngBio CDT, we wish you a very happy holiday, and all the best for 2026! (And one last reminder for 2025!: 🔵 University of Oxford deadline: Thursday 8th January 2026, midday UK time 🔴 University of Bristol deadline: Tuesday 13th January 2026, 23:59 UK time)

Meet the team!👋 Joanna Wakeling Joanna is our CDT Manager, based at the University of Bristol She supports the CDT by coordinating all teaching and research activities. "I love how unique CDTs are and how enthusiastic our students are. It’s wonderful to see them through their whole PhD journey."

On 9th and 10th December, our Cohort 2 students attended hashtag#SynBiTECH 2025, Europe’s #1 Synthetic Biology Conference. The conference offered a brilliant opportunity for our students to hear from and connect with visionary researchers, start-up CEO’s and industry experts.

Meet the team!👋 Catherine Libby Cat is our CDT Administrator, based at the University of Bristol. She supports the CDT manager with the day to day running of the course "My favourite part about working in the CDT is getting to know the students. It's lovely hearing their backgrounds and passions!"

Last week, our students attended their third Innovation Training, delivered by Ben Miles from Spin Up Science. They were exploring the entire commercialisation journey, all the way from spotting an idea in your research, to taking it to market. 💡 🎯

Join our third EngBio CDT seminar hosted by Cohort 1 student Yige Chen! Soft and Smart Materials for Biomedical Engineering and Robotic Applications - Jonathan Rossiter & Lei Wu Time: 2pm Date: 11th Dec 2025 Location: Online 🔗 Register here: bit.ly/4rs8IrE We look forward to seeing you online!

Applications to the EngBio CDT are open! ◾University of Oxford deadline: Thursday 8th January 2026, midday UK time ◾University of Bristol deadline: Tuesday 13th January 2026, 23:59 UK time You can apply here: ◾University of Oxford: bit.ly/EngBioCDTOx ◾University of Bristol: bit.ly/EngBioCDTBrist

Our Cohort 1 student Felipe Xavier Buson has published a new article in ACS Synthetic Biology: A Decade of SBOL Visual. The paper looks back on ten years of SBOL Visual, an essential standard for clear, consistent genetic design diagrams, and explores how its use has evolved across the field.

In October, our Engineering Biology students took part in iGEM at the Grand Jamboree in Paris. Six EngBio CDT members attended: Robin Henry, Gil Krikler, Maria Tașcă, Jack Dalton and Felipe Xavier Buson served as judges...

Earlier this month, Cohort 1 students gathered at Coexist Community Kitchen in Bristol for a four-course meal inspired by their food memories 🥣 During the meal, we discussed our PhD/DPhil journeys, reflecting on the past, present, and future.

It's not too late to sign up to our next student-led seminar, taking place tomorrow at 3pm! The seminar features Dr Jenny Molloy from the University of Cambridge, who will discuss open-source technologies to accelerate synthetic biology & local reagent manufacturing. Register here: lnkd.in/euCbBjnc

In their second Innovation Training session, our students ventured into the world of Intellectual Property and Tech Transfer💡🧾

This week, we welcomed Mike Vella and Majid Mosayebi from @nanoporetech.com Through their lecture, they provided our students with an insight into Oxford Nanopore’s work, and how they use theoretical and computational frameworks to understand the process of DNA molecule capture by nanopores 🧬

🎄 Join us 6pm Thurs. Dec. 4 at Imperial! 🧬 How to build a protein Noah Sprent (Change Bio) 🦠 Engineering altruism: How metabolic exchanges shape synthetic microbial communities in bio-manufacturing Diego Ruiz (Ledesma-Amaro Lab / Imperial) t.co/4tHIVGUJzc

This week, the EngBio CDT hosted David Vincent from eXmoor Pharma as part of our Industry Seminar Series. David provided insights into process development challenges in Advanced Therapies and how eXmoor Pharma can help overcome these.

Cohort 2 completed their first teaching block at Oxford and are now in Reading for the annual retreat! This is a chance to reflect, connect, and learn through sessions on bioethics, EDI, and responsible research. It’s been great to see the enthusiasm, teamwork, and curiosity from everyone involved!

Interested in the Engineering Biology CDT? 🌟 Join our webinar on Fri 14 Nov, 12:30 PM (GMT) to learn about the course, 2026 entry, and the application process. Register by Thu 13 Nov, 12 PM: bit.ly/4noQx2U We look forward to seeing you!

The second student-led seminar this academic year will be hosted by Cecilia Gallego Rubio. Cecilia has invited Dr Jenny Molloy, University of Cambridge, to deliver a talk in Oxford.Titled 'DNA Parts to Partnerships: Open Source Tech to Accelerate Synthetic Biology and Local Reagent Manufacturing'...

Congratulations to student Jack from Cohort 1 for winning Best Poster at the Future Talent Competition during the TechBio UK Conference, organised by the BioIndustry Association (BIA)! 🏆 #TechBioUK

Meet the team!👋 Emma Gregory Emma is our CDT Administrator, based at University of Oxford. She is the main point of contact for Oxford home base students "The best thing about working with the students is hearing all their amazing work. I can’t wait to see where their research will lead them!"

This weekend, Cohort 1 students, Natasha & Cecilia, swapped their lab coats for running shoes to take on Oxford's Half Marathon🏃‍♀️ Running through Oxford’s most historic & scenic streets, crowds lined the route, bringing lots of energy to the city. Huge congratulations to everyone who took part! 👏

Today is World Mental Health day! Here are some resources we would like to share: 🗺️University of Bristol have a wellbeing map with mindfulness tips and cosy spots to visit here bit.ly/46YObl9 📚University of Oxford have recommended many supportive books, apps, podcasts and more here bit.ly/3L4nC6H

If you've been inspired by our recent posts and would like to join the EngBio CDT, applications for Sept 2026 entry are open! The deadline for Bristol is 13th Jan 2026 bit.ly/EngBioCDTBrist The deadline for Oxford is 8th Jan 2026 bit.ly/EngBioCDTOx More course details on our webpages 🔬

Meet the team!👋 Professor Jennifer McManus Jennifer is our Co-i and EDI Champion, based at University of Bristol Jennifer's research looks at how inter-molecular protein interactions direct protein assembly to form crystals, gels and demixed liquids Find out about her research: bit.ly/3KX1ACQ

Congrats to James Bridson (Cohort 1) for winning a poster prize at the 16th European Nitrogen Fixation Conference! James said “I got some really constructive feedback… about the challenges of my work, major roadblocks to implementation in the field, & potential future directions.” Well done, James!

Time is flying 🚀 Students have wrapped up their second Welcome Week at Oxford & are nearly through week 1 of foundation training! Cohort 2 met supervisors, toured labs & sorted out building access. They're now split into two groups, Biology and Maths—before reuniting soon for a new project!

What if nature was a stakeholder in our research? Can we give nature a voice in our work? How can we be good ancestors? These were some of the questions at the centre of last Friday’s Responsible Research training session with Cohort 1 EngBio students at Belmont Estate belmont.estate

Come and join us on Saturday 27th September at FUTURES: A Festival of Discovery! futuresnight.co.uk This Saturday, the EngBio CDT will have an exhibition from 10am-4pm at We The Curious @wethecurious.bsky.social as part of Discovery Day. Tickets are free! Tickets here: tinyurl.com/4jur2vpv

That’s a wrap on Welcome Week at @bristoluni.bsky.social! Students have taken part in: 🧫 a visit to @sciencecreates.bsky.social 💭 an introduction to innovation and responsible research 🗣️ a poster event with Cohort 1 students and supervisors

Welcome to Cohort 2 of our EngBio CDT! The 2025 academic year has kicked off in Bristol and we’re very pleased to welcome another group of enthusiastic students onto the programme.

Meet the team!👋 Dr Jonathan Bath Jonathan is our Co-i and EDI Champion, based at the University of Oxford. Jonathan's work involves making molecular machines using DNA as a construction material. To find out more about Jonathan's research, visit his staff profile here; bit.ly/41MfehV

Meet the team!👋 Mireia Bes Garcia Mireia is our Responsible Research & Innovation Lead, based at University of Bristol She is one of our RRI training leads, covering environment, engagement and inclusive research through bespoke sessions for our students More about Mireia's work: bit.ly/4oWjDsw

Congratulations to our first cohort of students who are coming to the end of their taught units. We can’t believe how quickly this last year has gone! 👏 September will see the start of their PhD/DPhil projects and we’ll be welcoming Cohort 2 to the programme. 🌟

Meet the team!👋 Dr Kerstin Kinkelin Kerstin is our Innovation Manager, based at the University of Bristol. Kerstin works with partners across the innovation ecosystem to identify opportunities for collaborative research and training. Find out more about Kerstin's work here: bit.ly/45kuogz

One of the reasons we love living in Bristol? The annual Bristol Balloon Fiesta of course! The event takes place every summer when the city sees hundreds of balloons take to the skies. Our CDT Administrator Cat took this photo from her balcony last weekend 😍

Our students are part way through their second Short Research Project. They're looking into research areas such as: - characterising the phase-transition profile of haemoglobin in sickled RBCs 🩸 - using reinforcement learning to understand protein expression 🧑‍💻 It’s been a productive summer so far!

Meet the team!👋 Vivienne Kuh Viv is our Responsible Research & Innovation Lead, based at University of Bristol Viv is one of our RRI training leads, covering environment, engagement and inclusive research through bespoke sessions for our students Find out more about Viv's research: bit.ly/4eBExbs

Meet the team!👋 Professor Antonis Papachristodoulou Antonis is our Co-Director, based at University of Oxford. Antonis is part of the SYSOS group, who develop tools based on modern control theory for biological and technological systems.  Find out more about his research here: bit.ly/4lyJxzT

Since the end of the Summer School, we've been collecting feedback from students & attendees: "I learned so much during the Summer School & it was a great opportunity to network with academic and industry partners, as well as getting to know the new cohort!" Excited to make next year's even better!

And that’s a wrap! 🎉 Thank you to everyone who attended our first Summer School. We really appreciate you taking the time to be part of our event. We enjoyed the talks, the networking opportunities, & meeting some of our next cohort. We hoped you all enjoyed it!

It's the last day of the Summer School & we have been joined by Lucia Pavey and Megan Wood-Smith from the University of Bristol. They have talked to us about trusted research & the implications of wider collaborations. Soon, we'll be heading off for a tour at the Bristol Digital Futures Institute!

After the Biosecurity talks in the morning, the afternoon sessions involved some student led sessions. This included discussing future collaborations within their PhDs and identifying opportunities to work together. The day wrapped up with a discussion with our Scientific Advisory Board.

Day 2 of the Summer School is underway! We started with Andrew Engeli from Ginkgo Bioworks who shared insights on Biosecurity for Biotechnology. Nicole Wheeler from ARIA followed, with a talk about Responsible AI in Engineering Biology.

This afternoon, we continued with more inspiring talks from: Velia Siciliano (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia), Will Milligan (Extracellular), Max Jamilly (Hoxton Farms), Giulia Cuccato (Academy of Medical Sciences) Huge thanks to our speakers! Excited for networking tonight before starting Day 2!

This morning, we kicked off the Summer School with some great talks from Francesca Ceroni, Imperial College London, Teo Garcia-Millen from CDotBio, and Michiel Stock from Ghent University. Looking forward to more talks this afternoon! 🔬⚗️